The highs and lows of our trek westward

We've spent the last few days driving from Winnipeg to Banff.  I'm not going to lie, it may have been the most mind-numbing road trip I've ever taken.  The first day we planned to eat lunch at a park so the kids could play but when we got to the town (and I use that word very loosely) that we were planning to stop in it was pouring rain.  We made a quick scan for the golden arches and then immediately lit up the car with excitement when we told the kids that we weren't just going to McDonald's but that it was also a playplace.  Wahooooooo.  Whoa, not so fast...CLOSED.  Yup, a closed McDonald's.  We had a series of similar closures (city parks, museum exhibits, more city parks) on this leg of the trip.  When we got to the campsite on the first night of this trek, half the park (including the super cool rock throwing lake that we had been building up since we left the crappy A&W that didn't make the kids happy because it wasn't the McDonald's) was closed.  In defense of the lake, it had flooded and probably wasn't fit for the beating it would have taken by the Holdhusen's rock throwing extravaganza.  Sorry, kids.    

The campsite had a super disgusting bathroom that I refused to use.  My threshold for filth is pretty high so you can only imagine what it must have been like.  Of course, I had no qualms about letting my small children use it.  Super, super, super gross.  Really, no joke...lots and lots and lots of driving and lots and lots and lots of camping.  Now we're in Banff (Canmore) and it is amazing.  I started to get very skeptical that Mark had made this whole place up as we were leaving Calgary and I didn't even see foothills.  Alas, I was wrong.  They really do have beautiful, amazing, stunning mountains in Canada.  Snow-capped, sky-high mountains.  We're here all week...more adventures to come.

Milo has been drawing in lined notebooks for two days straight.  He has filled up two of them (front and backs) and each picture has a story.  It's very cool but he gets a little salty if you forget any of what he's told you and while he's an amazing artist, sometimes it can be hard to recall the story as quick as he'd like you to.  

  

We bought a jewelry kit at Target before we left Wausau.  Milo made a bracelet and Osie made a necklace.  

This is the super disgusting "bathroom".  They call them washrooms here, but don't let that fool you.  No washing has gone on in this facility EVER.  

I told him to give her a kiss.  It's cute but totally staged.

Here's the flooded lake and all of us looking at it longingly.

Odelia took this picture.

This is a picture of Mark and Odelia looking up at the trees that she just photographed.  

Day 2 of this leg: ROCK THROWING!

Odelia displaying her sheer joy at her first rock in this lake.

I do not recommend this.  She squealed with delight, as did I.  But then I felt like puking.  What is it about spinning around as an adult?  Seriously?

Camping on night number two.  We look very excited to be doing this but really we were all about ready to kill each other.  

Same thing here.  Mark was gritting his teeth through this smile because he had told both kids 5,345 times not to play by the fire.  Funny as I write this but at the time I wasn't laughing.  Ha!

Shout out to Norther Brewer...Milo style.  (He was out of warm clothes for camping bedtime).  

Canada's Montana

Milo said, "Dad take a picture of us by this map."

We went to a dinosaur museum in Alberta.  Odelia spent most of the time running from exhibit to exhibit squealing with delight.  She is a dinosaur fiend.  

This picture is funny because I am holding her back from diving into one of the dinosaur exhibits.  

More squealing and clapping at the dinosaurs.

And, lucky us!  This is where we're staying in Banff.  This picture was taken from our balcony.  Wahoo!